Infinite Possibilities (L/M romance, completed)

Gabri_Jade: AMAZING! Even though this is post TLC, you've really managed to capture that OT charm that made me fall in love with SW in the first place. Agree with the others, loved the line about Han calling Luke "kid" and the bit about Mara tossing him out so unceremoniously. How spot on!

 

Yikes! I read this this afternoon, got kicked offline, and forgot to reply!


Aww... Lukie is worried about Mara being lonely. That is sooo sweet. And my favorite excerpt already got stolen by Marawannabe. **points**


More on... Monday?

 

Lukie... always the gentlemen. I cannot help but wonder how Mara would act if she was going to the family dinner...

And the dialogue between Lukie and Han was priceless! Great job!

 

Ooohh, page 3 already! How exciting!

astrowoman: Luke is thinking about Mara. Is she thinking about him? Guess we have to tune in next time to find out.

Same bat time, same bat channel. Sorry. Always wanted to say that.

Will Han and Leia find out about the dancing lessons?

You never know. Life is just full of mysteries, isn't it? And thanks!

Inez: *grins* All it takes to breathe life into a thread is cyber-chocolate.

I agree, our heroes need some relaxation once in a while.

Seriously. Wouldn't you think they'd all be suffering from shell shock and battle fatigue by now? ? Thanks for the compliment.

Jedi_Liz: Thanks! Now that I'm thinking of it, the dinner will be kind of dramatic. That's still a few posts away, though.

Marawannabe: That's my favorite part too. Mara's not really one to mince words. And yes, Leia does have an acute 'older sister' sense. I'm not about to say when it kicks in, though.

The_Hooded_One: A new reader! Thanks! And I love the first line of your sig.

ShortySC22: Thanks so much!

Emmi: Gotta love good ol' Han!

Don't ya, though? Han's cool. And I like Luke/Leia interaction too. But don't be too hard on the NJO Luke, dearest. I'll be the first to admit the authors have screwed some things up royally, and I think Mara's disease was unnecessary to say the least; but if Han were terminally ill with a debilitating disease that noone understood or could do anything about, and Leia was unable to do anything but watch as the person she loved most in the galaxy slipped away, I bet she'd be distracted too.

I smell a plot bunny...heeree bunny bunny bunny...

No, Emmi! Resist! Fight 'til your last breath! If you take on any more projects you'll wind up with an ulcer! Or I will, from worrying about you.

*wrestles bunny into a fang-proof cage with all the rest of my bunnies*

Whew! Good girl. Thank you, dearest. When someone actually says they love your exposition, you know you've been successful.

RebelMom: Thank you so much! Yes, for best friends, they don't always get a lot of time together, do they? Hmmmm, now that might be a very interesting plot bunny...

LadyPadme: Even though this is post TLC, you've really managed to capture that OT charm that made me fall in love with SW in the first place.

I have? What a compliment! Thank you!

Sache8: Lukie is worried about Mara being lonely.

Well, we all know what a softie he is. Yes, more on Monday.

Jaded Skywalker: I cannot help but wonder how Mara would act if she was going to the family dinner...

You'll see soon enough. And thank you!



I'm grinning madly here, guys, I really am. Much as I love my baby in its entirety, I thought this would be the least popular post. I'm soooooo pleased you all liked it. In my humble (and admittedly biased) opinion, it only gets better from here on in -- so stick around! Not that I'm trying to coerce you or anything...

Thanks again!

~Gabri

 

*notices that the sofa has super glue on it*

Gee, now who put that there? *tries to move... can't...*

Looks like I'm stuck Gabri! Not that I mind...

Note **above was an interesting way to give an UP!** End Note

 

Oh, I was trying to say that Mara's disease was totally unncessary from the start, not that Luke was doing wrong by worrying about her. He's right to worry. The disease was stupid, though.

I got ticked off at Vector Prime Mara because she was acting like such a jerk-ette towards poor Lukie. Just a random comment, don't really think it's relevant.

Hmmm...no, I think I'll just let that particular bunny get into a fight with the other bunnies until they're positively mixed up and I don't know what to do with them. I'll probably just make some character sketches and plot outlines to mull over for a while. It took me almost a year before I was ready for the Landslide bunny to make an entrance onto the JC.

*patiently waiting for more*

 

Ah. In that case, Emmi, I'm with you completely. I was ticked off at Vector Prime for many reasons. I still hate that book. Oh, there's a sentence here or there that I like in it, but.... It just seemed that they were so incredibly determined to start the series off with a bang, and so much of what they did would have had greater impact had they spaced it over several books, or forgotten it entirely. I actually skimmed the book when it first came out and was so mad at what I read that I ignored the whole series until -- oh, I think it was last August that I finally gave in. I've decided I have a love-hate relationship with the NJO. There are lots of things I like about it. There are just as many that I dislike.

BTW, Mara darling, that was a very interesting up indeed. Would you like some more M&M's as long as you're stuck there?

 

Hmmm...have you read Balance Point yet? It's very good, actually. Chock full of quality mush, in my opinion. Oh, and there's one little bit I like in Onlslaught where Luke and Mara are arguing over whether to land on Belkadan or not.

But they have doctors, right? Because we need doctors.

And I like Lando's little "Running the Belt" game. Tis cool.

I do, however, thoroghly dislike both Jacen and Jaina, and Anakin gets killed, so that's it for the Solo kids.

 

Oh yes, I'm completely caught up now. Well, through Destiny's Way, anyhow. You're right, Balance Point had good mush. That's my favorite of the books.

I liked Lando's belt game and that line too, but the line was from Vector Prime, not Onslaught. What I really did like about VP was the descriptions of Luke's piloting of his X-wing. I think sometimes Luke and Mara's extraordinary piloting skills get overlooked in favor of their Jedi abilities.

*laughs* Dearest, do you realize what a horrible spoiler you just threw out if I hadn't gotten as far as Balance Point?

 

*gasp* You mena Anakin's DEAD???

















Just kidding *innocence* Mmmm, more M&M's, thanks Gabri! *munches happily*

 

I seem to keep finding stories to read along the way. From the moment Mara was introduced I thought she and look would end up together. This is an incredible story of how it could have happened sooner than it did. Looking forward to the next post.

~~Jilly

 

Great post Gabri...wonderful interaction between Han and Luke, very well written.
"Hey, kid."

Luke smiled to himself. When they were both old and gray, watching their great-grandchildren play together, he had no doubts that Han would still be calling him 'kid'. It was reassuring, in an odd way.
Probably! I know 'twas already mentioned but I really just loved that bit!
Likewise...
...when Mara had decided they'd done enough, she'd tossed him out without ceremony, declaring that she was sick of him and he wasn't to show his face until tomorrow. Fairly typical day with Mara.
Oh! And I also REALLY liked... Then again, Han had once only been a disreputable smuggler hired for a one-time job, and look what he'd become. Luke's best friend, brother-in-law, and father of his niece and nephew.
So true! Don't really stop and think about that too often...
Great job Gabri!
~**Kimball**~

 

I like the first line in my sig, too! I saw it on the back of a T-shirt in a white
water rafting shop.

 

Coming out of lurkdom to say how glad I am that I noticed this new fic. You're doing a great job with the characterizations of both Luke and Mara. I much prefer fun, romantic stories over space battles and Sith/Imperial/Vong encounters.

BTW, one of the aspects that makes your fic enjoyable is that you actually have a keen grasp of punctuation, spelling, and grammar, and aren't afraid to show it. Bravo!

I'll definitely be watching for each new post.

 

JainaDurron: I felt exactly the same way. Even when she wanted to kill him, Mara and Luke were just so perfectly matched. I don't and never will believe it would actually have taken them ten years to realize that. Glad you like the story so far.

DarthKimballDreamer: *shakes head* And to think I almost cut that line about Han probably still calling Luke 'kid' when they were old. That'll teach me! Well, no, it probably won't -- but one can always hope. Thanks!

The_Hooded_One: Profound sayings can be found in the most interesting places sometimes.

New post tomorrow!

EDIT: Jedi-2B: Sorry I missed you there...you posted while I was still typing. I'm slow; what can I say? BTW, let me take this chance to say how much I enjoy your work. Ironically enough, I just finished reading the updated chapters of Journey of Discovery: Book 2 at fanfix. I can't tell you how excited I was to find that the series page had finally been updated! I'd been waiting anxiously since the last update (10/6/02, wasn't it?) to finish the rest of that story. Great job! Can't wait for the finale. And thank you so very much for your comments!

 

One quick off-topic comment here, since this is YOUR story thread, not mine: You can find the complete book two of Journey, including the last five chapters, at http://www.geocities.com/maraandlukearchives/fan_fiction.html

Oh, and I forgot to say, I hope there'll be future posts of IP that will allow us to witness some of those dance lessons. Truly, that scenario does have infinite possibilities!

 

Oh, believe me, I don't mind off-topic comments in the least; and I'm thrilled to see that one. Since the first five chapters of Pledge went up at fanfix, I've been looking everywhere I could think of for the rest of the story. I'll run over and finish it as soon as I possibly can. Another off-topic comment: Pendulum was one of the very first SW fanfic stories I ever read when I first discovered their existence last summer, so in a very real way your work introduced me to the genre. Thanks!

The dancing will show up again, though it would have played a much bigger part if I only knew more about dancing myself. There are plenty of infinite possibilities to come, though, so don't worry.

Next post up in a few moments.

 

Chapter 4

Sometime after midnight, Mara gave up the hope of sleep and eased reluctantly out of bed. Wrapping a blanket around herself, she curled up in a corner of her sofa and stared out the picture window at the traffic lines. Even at this hour, Coruscant was as busy as it ever was. The trailing glow of the speeder lights reminded her of the afterimage left by a sweeping lightsaber.

Damn him, anyway. Five years of her life she'd spent obsessed with Skywalker. All those nights when she couldn't sleep for the heart-stopping nightmares of him cutting the Emperor down as Palpatine ordered her with his last breath to kill Skywalker. All the days wasted in fantasies of doing just that. And finally, finally, after learning the truth of the matter and putting an end to the whole sordid saga, she still couldn't sleep because Skywalker was in her head.

She folded her arms over the arm of the sofa and laid her head down on top of them, continuing to stare at the cityscape without really seeing it. This time, it was far stranger to be preoccupied with Skywalker. Before, she'd just wanted to kill him. Okay, so not everyone would see that as normal -- but it was for her. She was an assassin, after all. A professional killer. Mara shivered. That fact had never bothered her before; why did she now recall the faces of her victims, and ache inside?

She shoved that thought to the very back of her mind. Too many issues to resolve in her life now. Too many things irrevocably changed. If she tackled them all at once, she'd go insane.

Skywalker. Since that was the issue currently keeping her from sleep, that was the one she'd address first. Why couldn't she decide how she felt about him? She swayed from emotion to emotion regarding that man, never able to settle firmly on one -- any one -- for longer than a moment. The uncertainty made her profoundly uneasy. She'd never experienced anything like this before. Always before, she'd known where she stood. Maybe she didn't like it, occasionally she wasn't able to control it, but at least she'd always known.

Did she hate him? She used to, with a passion. She knew now that it had been in large part the Emperor's hatred, but it had defined her life nonetheless. A new realization whispered through her: at Jabba's, she had not hated him. Mara sat upright, absurdly startled by the notion. She combed through her memories of that time. No, no hate. Cold, calculating contempt. He was a target; she would have killed him without hesitation...but that job had been as impersonal as all the others had been. He had not meant enough to her to hate.

No, the hatred that had consumed her for five years had not come from her. She had never contained the spark that would have given it life. Palpatine had implanted it in her as one might reprogram a droid, with no regard as to how it might affect her. His loyal and devoted servant for her entire life, and she hadn't mattered to him even at the end.

Mara blinked fiercely, unwilling even to acknowledge the tears that threatened to fall. Unimportant, she snapped silently at herself. And you knew it already.

Very well, then, if she didn't hate him, what did she feel? She laid her head back down and considered. On Myrkr, when all she'd wanted to do was slit his throat, he'd saved her life. How that had confused her. He'd risked his life for the woman who'd openly sworn to kill him. As he had on the Chimaera, rescuing Karrde. As he had on Wayland. Why? Why had he cared? Why had he trusted her like that? She thought she knew the answer to the first question. Skywalker cared about everyone. She'd seen that time and again by now. Mara laughed softly. It was almost a sickness with that one. If Luke stopped caring for others, he'd probably stop breathing, too. It was too integral a part of his personality.

Mara caught her breath suddenly, shocked. Luke? He was Luke, now? Just a slip, she thought reflexively, backing away from the frightening thought. She'd been in the Palace too long, been near Luke -- [

 

nice look into her inner being, Gabri! I can see why Emmi enjoys your work so much!


I can't wait to see if Mara crashes the dinner.

 

I'm really enjoying this, Gabri!

I liked this section a lot, because it's helping me to remember how much Mara has changed in the profic from TLC to the latest book, Remnant, which I just finished this weekend.

The last part, where Mara reflects that Luke could be her first new friend, is great.

Thanks for writing! Can't wait for more, but no pressure.

(I always feel bad for those authors whose readers keep asking for more posts immediately. I think it must be a lot of pressure for the author, who's already trying their best )

Anyhow, great story!

Astro

 

Great introspection. I like how she realized that it was the Emperor's hate and not her own regarding Luke.

You are doing a great job with this.

 

At the very edge of sleep, Mara recalled the brief surge of emotion that had earlier prompted her to assure Skywalker that she wouldn't join Organa Solo in matchmaking, and wondered at it; but some realizations were still too frightening to contemplate, and introspection too new to her to delve so deeply.

And so it begins... Muwahahahahaha! Great post Gobri, I would say more, but I have to get to work, awesome job!

 

COOL STUFF!!

 

Whoopie, the Monday post is already here! You're brave, setting deadlines like that. Chapters always take me three times longer to write than what I expected.

I liked all of Mara's thoughts, especially how she didn't want to face any subconscious ulterior motives on why she didn't want Luke matched up with anyone else.

P.S. You should have emailed me about Pledge a long time ago. Sometimes my stuff gets hidden on the most obscure sites. Just don't ask about Book 3 yet. I spend way too much time reading other fics, like yours, which is more fun than writing.

 

Excellent! The flow of Mara's thoughts was so well-paced and natural. The bit about the last command being fulfilled and still not being able to get him out of her head was particularly fun, IMHO.


Darn that Skywalker, anyway